Main man at the Hope PMBA Enduro, Kev Duckworth, has announced that he’ll hang up his organising boots after the British Enduro Champs.
After a decade of organising events, the Hope PMBA Enduro series will have its swansong at the first UCI-sanctioned British National Enduro Championships at Ae Forest.
Thanks Kev for everything you’ve done for enduro Kev, and here’s to whatever comes next.
Read the full press release below.
Not only is the the first ever BC / UCI Sanctioned British National Enduro Champs, a piece of history I (Kev) have been working on since 2018; but it is also, probably, the last Hope PMBA Enduro.
I wish to take the opportunity to thank the sponsors & volunteers for the support over the past decade. Hope Technology have been supporting my racing since 1990, when I was actually a fast Youth/Junior and have in this last decade supported every event we have run since that first “Escape to Gisburn” Enduro with Escape Bike Shop in 2013. An event so successful it spawned a whole series from 2014 onwards.
Special thanks to Orange Bikes who came in in 2016 and have been a massive supporter of the events since then. Vittoria Tyres may have been a newer addition to the roster joining in 2018 but have again put in a massive amount to the series since then. Another sponsor who has been with the events since that first 2013 enduro is Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery and we even got our own signature ale “Enbeero” for many years. Ride Slovenia and Mudhugger have been sponsors of the series since 2014 as well.
It’s been great to work with such consistent sponsorship, especially connecting with my favourite place to ride in Slovenia and while riding in the UK a Mudhugger is just about as essential kit as you can get . That just leaves thanks to Saxx Underwear who since joining to help us deliver the first BEMBA Enduro champs in 2017 have carried on supporting the series, and supporting my balls, we have given away hundreds of Saxx since then so many of you will have had your balls tucked comfortably away in a pouch too.
I must reflect on the immense amount of trail work, and venues, the series has supported, it was named the PMBA Enduro series to support the local volunteer trail building groups that were under the PMBA umbrella, and although the PMBA volunteers organisation did fizzle away it did a lot of good when it was active. The Series has however directly built many trails and many of which got huge use outside of events too.
At Gisburn for that first event we built an off piste trail, its evolved a bit since then into “Uncle Bulgaria” but 2nd half with the 2 bog crossings we had to make a causeway & boardwalk over are still there and in use with a newer upper section. As well as Hopeline, LoaMUDageddon and DH/Enduro line repairs, extensions and maintenance over the years for event use, I was able to have enough time to volunteer and repair / maintain many of the trail centre sections. I take pride in the fact Snake, Over the Hill, Circle, Rocky Road, Home baked, Whelpstone, Hully Gully, Long Way Down, Bottoms, Swoopy, Park Wood Wetlands & 27 Berms have all indirectly significantly benefitted from the series enabling me to volunteer so many hours at my local trail centre.
The original Grizedale Carron-to-black trail may no longer be there, but the likes of supersteep/goldenshower will remain in enduro lore for a long time, and over the years we put lots of effort into building & keeping wild trails open and repaired such as Viking, Sat DH, Sculpture trail, Blind Mice, The Black, Bluebells & Loose lips/Bogle.
The Lee Quarry Enduros not only allowed us to help fund Havok bike park in its early years, but also put in a new line at Lee Quarry, as well as a moorland descent but also to legitimise and improve a locals track over in Facit Woods.
I was very stoked to take racing back to Llangollen after a few years with no events and a combative council. Again left a legacy in the building of “Einherjar” on the hill, and the successful events also encouraged DH races and other enduro’s back to the venue; and that momentum is still building for One Giant Leap Llangollen, great to see that venue recovery and trajectory.
Graythwaite was a venue on its own, private land and the trails just for PMBA Enduro use. This was a highlight for me, not only living so much of every year on site, but creating some of the best trails and events. Well into double figures of trails created but alas no legacy left for others to enjoy as at other venues with its private nature. However these will be some of my fondest memories.
While the trails at Kirroughtree were much more local-led, they did use the Enduros for an excuse and motivation to produce some absolute bangers, and more than I can recall with new stages every year we went, and this year finishing with the biggest of them all – the 1000ft trail, from a trail ridden by maybe 6 people once a year to the biggest, meanest trail in the forest.
In Covid with no events, and no Forestry volunteering I even managed to do a month of trail repairing at Healey Nab, one of the PMBA volunteer sites, if not an enduro race site, owned by Lancs CC and they were able to give me permission to do what I like to do, park my camper in a forest and tinker with trails.
Thank you all for supporting the events and allowing us to leave a legacy of trails wherever we raced – this was always a major aim of the series, despite some not seeing the big picture when I look back I see a huge legacy of trail work.
I will for sure miss the lifestyle, if not the stress, but it was last in 2019 that the series was able to fund this lifestyle and while it was easy to think “things will get better” after 20/21 it has in fact just got financially harder every year since. I just cant continue. I’ve put a lot of work behind the scenes at BEMBA, getting the BNES going but that was always collaborative with all the other organisers to try and progress Enduro; and hope that will still all happen without me leading it now its all established. Maybe if next year the cost of living crisis ends and I can get the finances in order there could be a 2026 return but its a very outside chance.
One last legacy mention before we get on with the rider briefing, and that on the Ambassadors, and kids racing. This was never really a personal aim to individually help racers, I just wanted to put out the races for everyone. However Mike persuaded me to support the Wet Lettuce duo of Callum and Jim, and then seeing Martha win a U21 World Enduro Champs after doing her first enduro at “Escape to Gisburn” and moving to enduro the following year I also became invested in these personal stories of progression and how the events helped these kids to excel.
I therefore did more of it, some hits some misses but a massive sense of achievement watching the progression. Katy Kaos won our first U10’s free enduro back in 2019, getting her an entry in to the Hope Women’s a month later and has just not looked back on her ride to stardom – that alone justifies that ambassador program, the free U10s events and the work with Hope Women on those novice focussed events. Its also been great to see older women do their first enduro’s with us at the Hope Women events, and go onto doing more racing, some even to race and podium at the BNES.
I am not the only organiser who is struggling, so can I ask that you do your best to enter events early, and understand how tight the margins are. If you want events to continue, then support them. We have all seen various events be cancelled this year with lack of entries. I suspect 2025 you will have a lot less choice of where to race, and the race scene will need your (early) entries to have confidence and budget to invest, its in your hands as the enduro racing community. I’ll try and do a few myself, I may even go and race the BNES final on my E-Bike in September.
